Meeting By Chance
by dnaw12
Summary: The first time Matt saw Gabriela Dawson was in the waiting room at Lakeshore.


**A weirdly written one shot I wrote while procrastinating.**

* * *

The first time Matt saw Gabriela Dawson was in the waiting room at Lakeshore. Herrmann had been injured in a building collapse and they were waiting to see whether he'd come out okay or not. The waiting room had cleared out of all other doctors and nurses and when she walked in, Shay had called out her name and walked over to her. He took in all of her features quietly, noticing the others were also paying attention. She and Shay spoke momentarily before they walked over to the group of firemen and Shay introduced her as Herrmann's doctor. When she explained to them all his injuries and the state he was in, he noticed how soft and reassuring her voice was. He didn't even know this woman but she seemed trustworthy. Her eyes were kind but determined, and you could tell that she cared about their fellow firefighter. Of course after she explained that it was likely there was no chance of long term effects from his injuries and that he'd be fine, she'd left quickly when everyone let out a sigh of relief and started celebrating. But even after leaving the hospital and the days following she was at the back of his mind. Enough so that he didn't call Hallie like he had wanted to do a lot lately.

* * *

The second time Matt saw Gabriela Dawson was at the annual firefighter barbeque. He wasn't interested in listening to Cruz and Otis argue, and he caught her sitting at a table with Shay. Her head was thrown back in laughter, and her happiness was so contagious that he smiled just watching her. After coming up and introducing himself he learned she was a doctor at Lakeshore, had a brother that was a cop, and was best friends with Shay.

"Did Shay tell you about our new candidate?"

"Oh yeah, Peter Mills over there right?" They all looked over to see Mills in his dress uniform and he chuckled.

"Yeah, the guys convinced him to ask Shay out."

"Aw, poor kid. You rejected him nicely right."

"Of course, Gabs. I wouldn't be too harsh on him, the meals are actually edible since he's arrived."

The three of them engaged in conversation about the craziest things they'd seen on the job, and he'd watched on amused at the two girls bantering. The way she told stories was so animated, and when she listened to him speak he could tell that she was listening and seeing her reactions to the things he said made him want to talk forever. He wanted to stay and talk longer, but when Heather arrived he left to go play with the Darden boys. He caught her eye a few times after that, and got a wave and a smile every time, but didn't get a chance to speak with her before Shay had dragged her off somewhere else. Needless to say he was glad he'd refrained from inviting Hallie, because he was tempted after that day to find out more about Gabriela from Shay.

* * *

The third time Matt saw Gabriela was when they brought in the boy who'd gotten his arm stuck in the machine. It was interesting to see her work, she gave orders clearly, and worked efficiently. He pulled her aside for a moment after, and she greeted him with a giant smile.

"How's your day going?"

"Good. This was the first guy to come in today with his arm stuck in a machine, so that's great."

"What this isn't a normal occurrence?" She rolled her eyes at him.

"You know, everyone watching this conversation is going to be questioning me about the hot firefighter I was talking to." He did notice the looks that some of the nurses were giving them, but couldn't bother paying attention once they started a conversation. After a moment of small talk, he was about to ask her if she'd like to go out for a drink sometime before she was called away to deal with a patient. After shrugging off a suggesting look from Kelly, they left and headed back to the station.

Disappointed, he decided to ask Shay for her number, figuring how much she'd tease him for it was worth it. Despite the fact that when he asked, it turned into a group conversation in the common room which consisted of everyone questioning Matt. Herrmann talking about how good of a doctor she was, Cruz bringing up how attractive she was, Shay talking about how they'd worked together before when Gabriela was a paramedic and how kick ass she was. Although the awkward conversation and questioning was worth it, he didn't call due to how anxious she made him. He felt like a teenager with a crush.

* * *

The fourth time Matt saw Gabriela was after he'd been beat up by Voight's men. t his refusal to go to the hospital, Shay told Chief she had an idea and left to make a phone call. 20 minutes later Gabriela showed up, and after getting a first aid kit and a multitude of other things from Shay they were left alone in one of the empty conference rooms. The genuine concern on her face had him reassuring her that he was fine, to which she'd just shake her head in response to. She was careful in bandaging him up and checking that his injuries weren't serious, and asked him to explain what had happened. She listened patiently, and after sitting in thought for a moment spoke up.

"I think you're doing the right thing." She put everything back in the first aid kit before rubbing her thumb against his cheek, being careful of the cuts on his face.

"I just, I can't imagine letting that family live without someone being held responsible."

"Trust me, I couldn't either. Just be careful, alright. And if you happen to get beat up again, as much as I like doing house calls, please go to the hospital." She grinned down at him and he let out a light laugh.

"You've got it." When Chief came back in the room she stepped slightly back, but brought her hand to rest on his shoulder. She offered to get her brother to help out on the case, and when Chief said yes but Matt said no way she insisted that she would. After talking to Shay for a while, she said goodbye and left. He missed the feeling of her warm hand on his shoulder. Even though he met with her brother twice after that, she was unfortunately never present.

* * *

The fifth time Matt saw Gabby was at Jensens. She had come with Shay and he hadn't even realized she was there until she slid into the booth next to him. While Shay was off drinking with the guys they sat in the booth having quiet conversation.

"How did things turn out with that cop?"

"Fine, he ended up getting arrested."

With raised eyebrows she responded "That's good." After taking a swig of her drink she smiled slightly. "I have to admit, I was a little worried about you."

"Only a little?" She let out a quiet laugh. He enjoyed the feeling of her shoulder against his, and the way she looked in this lighting. He admired how passionate she was when she talked about her job, and the way her eyes widened showing how interested she was in what he was telling her. It was hard not to pay attention to the way her dress hugged her waist when she got up to grab another drink, and Matt realized he was tired of just waiting for the next time they'd run into each other by chance.

So at the end of the night when she was ready to leave he offered to drive her home. Through the confidence he'd gathered throughout the night, he leaned over and kissed her when they were sitting in his car outside of her apartment, and she reciprocated. After pulling away she smiled at him, telling him that he should actually use her number and call her sometime before getting out of his car and going inside.

Needless to say after that they saw each other more often.


End file.
